Ecommerce Hosting – Ratings Make A Difference
Compliance with industry security practices is one of the most important issues facing ecommerce hosting. In 2004, the Payment Card Industry (PCI), a consortium of credit card companies, created the Data Security Standards. These standards were designed to safeguard consumer’s confidential information and are now enforced by contract with most merchants. Consumers have some comfort in spending money with companies that protect their confidential credit information and, in turn, the practice makes good business sense.
Currently there are 12 major requirements which include everything from technical guidelines to well laid out business practices. One of the technical requirements is the encryption of data for storage and transmission. Who has access to the data both digitally and physically must also be rigorously controlled
PCI standards should be followed by any company that processes, transmits or stores credit card information. For smaller companies, this is not the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. To assist them, there are many PCI-compliant ecommerce solutions available to them and range from online shopping cart software to ecommerce hosting. These options insure PCI compliance and take the burden off of the sellers and allow them to focus more on making sales.
Small businesses trying to enter the ecommerce market need a trustworthy PCI-compliance hosting provider. Frequently, third-party evaluations of ecommerce hosting on opinion web sites are available. However, it is important to also request references. It is essential that a highly credentialed hosting provider be chosen due to the close business relationship between the two.
While security is certainly a major factor to consider when looking at ecommerce hosting, you should also check out the other benefits ecommerce solutions have to offer. Hosting firms often pair up with their clients to offer online shopping cart software too. It is extremely helpful if your hosting provider has software expertise, since this can often result in better technical support for you. In the end, that means your site will be down less often and your customers will find their shopping experience a more comfortable one.
In creating a successful ecommerce store there are many things to face and solve. The easiest parts are to focus on product solution and what marketing strategy to pursue. However, to make your store more attractive to the buyer, you need to ease their mind in regards to their private information that they provide. You also need to comply with your credit card provider’s merchant agreement. Therefore, it makes the most sense to partner with a secure and PCI-compliant ecommerce hosting provider.
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards are guidelines the credit card industry created to safeguard consumer privacy. Compliance with these guidelines can be challenging for small online businesses, but there are economical ecommerce solutions available, ranging from online shopping cart software to ecommerce hosting. A combined package could mean better technical support and security. Small businesses should investigate to make sure that the service is PCI-compliant and trustworthy. Business and marketing strategy is important in online stores, but so is security. A PCI-compliant site will provide peace of mind for your customers, so a partnership with a PCI-compliant hosting business is a good move for an online store.
- norman horowitz
